St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-12-10
man all sfull of Heaven.

Some of us in our sleep nave mad
the good place open to us. we saw the
pinnacles in the sky. We heard the click
of the hoofs of the white horses on
which yictors rode. and the clapplng OF
the cvmbals of eternal triumph: And
while in our sleep we were glad that all
our sorrows were over, and burdens done
with the throne of God grew whittier,
whittier and whittier, till we opened our
ewes and saw that it was only the sun OF
the earthly morning shining on our pill
low. To have right heart you need to
be filled with this expectancy. 1t would
make YOUR privations ana annoyanccs
more bearable.
In the midst of the city of Paris stands,
or did stand, statue OF the good, but
broken hearted Josephine. | never I'M
ARMED that marble could be smittcn into
such tenderness. 1t seems not HfeleSs
If the spirit of Josephine be disentabcr-
nacled, the soul Of the empire has taken
possession of this figure. | am not yet
satisfied that it is stone. The pull OF the
dress on the arm seems to need but the
pressure Of the finger to indent 1t. The
figure at the bottom of the robe, the rUttic
at the neck, the fur lining on the dress,the
embroidery of the satin, the cluster OF
lily and leaf and rose in her hand, the
p0ise of her body as she seems to come
sailing out of the sky, her face calm,
humble, beautiful but vet sad-attrst
the genius Of the sculptor and the beauty
of the heroine he celebrates Looking
up through the riffs Of the cOronel that
cncirrles her brow | could see the sky
beyond, the great heavens where all
wNman's wrongs shall he riGhtcI,
and the story Of endurance and res
irnation Shall be told 10 all agts.
The rose and the lily in the
hand of Josephine will never drop
their petals. The children of God,
Whether they suffer on earth, i'll palare~,
or in novels, shall come 10 that glorious
rest. OH Heaven, sweet Heaven. at thy
rate we set down all our burdens and
gricfs. The place will be full. Here
there are vacant chairs at the hearth, and
at the table, but there are no vacant
chairs in Heaven. The crowns all worn;
the thrones all mounted.
Some talk Of Heaven as though it were
a very handsome church, where few
favUrite spirits would come in and sit
down on tinclv-cUNAi0ned seats all NY
themselves, ana sing psalms 10 al! tter-
nifty. No. no. Il saw great multitude
that no man could number, standing be-
fore the throne He that talked with
me had a golden reed to measure the
civ. and il was twelve thousand fur
longs shat j., fifteen hundred miles in
circumference. All! Heaven is not a
little colony. at one corner of God :
dominion, where a man : entrance de
pcndS upon what kind of clothes he has
on his back. and hOw much money he
has in his purse: hut vast empire
God grant that the light Of that blessed
world may shine upon us III our last
moment
The toughest time we had in crossing
the ocean was at the mouth Of Liverpool
harbor. We arrived at ni-httau, and
were Obliged to lie there till the morn
ing, waiting for the rising OF the tide,
before we could 60 up to the city. How
the vessel pitched and Writhed IN the
water. SO sometimes the last illness OF
the Christian is a struggle. He Is al
most through the voyage. The waves OF
temptation toss his soul, but he waits
for the morning. At last the light daWns
and the tides of Joy rise in his soul, and
he sails up and casts anchor within the
veil
Is thy heart right What question can
compare with this in importance?
1t is business question. DOyou not
realize that YOU will soon have to 60 out
of that store, that you will soon have to
resign that partnership, that soon among
all the millions of dollars worth Of goods
| that are sold in New York you will not
have the handling of yard of CLOTH or a
| pound of sugar, or penny-Worth
of anything; that soon if contia-
grafton should start at Central Park
and sweep everything to the Bat
| terv, it would not disturb you; that
! soon if every cashier should abscond
and every insurance company should
fail, it would not affect you? What are
the questions that stop this side the
grave compared with the questions that
! reach beyond it? Are you making losses
that are to be everlasting? Are you
making purchases for eternity? Are
YOU iobbing for time when you might be
wholesaling for eternity? What ques
ton of store is so broad at the base and
so altitudinous, and so overwhelming as
the question, rs thy heart right -
Or is it domestic question? Is il
something about father, or mother, OF
companion, or son, or daughter that you
think is comparable with this question II
importance? Do you not realize thai
by universal and memorable law all these
relations will be broken up? You
father will be gone, your mother will bt
gone, your companion will be gone, YOU
child be gone, you will be gone, and ther
this supernal question will begin tc
harvest it's chief gains, or deplore 1t:
worst losses, roll up into its mightles
magnitude, or sweep its vast circles
What difference now does it make tc
Napoleon III whether he triumnhed o.
surrendered at Sedan? Whether he liveC
at the Tuileries or at Chiselhurst
Whether he was emperor or exile? They
laid him out in his coffin in the dress OF ;
field-marshal Did that give him an,
better chance for the next world than i
he had been lain out in plain shroud
And soon to US what will be the differ
ence whether in this world we rode o
walked, were bowed to or maltreated
were applauded or Kissed at, were wei
coined in or kicked out, while lay
ing hold of every moment of the grea
future, and burning in all the splendor o
grief, and overarching and undergoing
all time and all eternity, is the plain, sim
pie practical, thrilling, agonizing, over
whelming question, us thy heart right?
Have you within you repenting heart
an expectant heart? If not, | mus